10 MMA Fighters Who Should Have Taken Their Careers More Seriously

Despite working their entire lives to achieve a dream that has denied countless others, fighters oftentimes forget that being a professional athlete is a blessing in itself.

It doesn't matter whether they've fought in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, WEC, Dream or Bellator. There are very few human beings on this planet blessed with the ability to do the things that these guys can do.

In every gym strewn across the world, there are dreams waiting to be achieved or denied. There is also natural talent that will make it to the big show but will never reach its full potential.

Ralph Marston, author and publisher of The Daily Motivator, once said, "There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don't allow yourself to become one of them."

In any sport, talent can only take a person so far. They need the drive, hunger and motivation to succeed.

MMA is known for its grueling training regimen and dieting, which sometimes takes a toll on even the most disciplined of athletes. Still, these are things a fighter has to endure if he or she ever hopes to reach their full potential.

Here are 10 fighters who should have taken their careers more seriously.

David Terrell

In an in-depth look at the rise and fall of the former UFC prospect, Sherdog.com did an exclusive interview with Terrell, which was rightfully dubbed "The Man Who Might Have Been King."

"I was nearly suicidal after losing to [Evan] Tanner. It affected me that deeply. But I look at that time in general, [and] I wasn't happy. From the outside looking in, some people may have thought I had everything. I wasn't happy when I was fighting; it just got old, that lifestyle of going out and always training."

When a career ends, it's hard not to reminisce about the things you could've done different.

As a fighter, Terrell never forgave himself for being human. Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Randy Couture have all suffered defeat in their careers.

BJ Penn

Along with UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture, he is the only fighter in the UFC to ever hold a title in two separate weight classes.

When all is said and done, Penn will walk away from the sport as an all-time great, but it's easy to ponder what else he could've achieved.

Throughout his career, Penn has always been surrounded with a cloud of suspicion regarding his motivation.

On one hand, there's the dominant version of Penn, who made Matt Hughes, Sean Sherk and Diego Sanchez look like a cakewalk; on the other, you have the guy who gassed after a few minutes of action with Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz and Jon Fitch.